Think about all the things you want to do in this life. You have dreams of going to neat places, spending more time on a favorite hobby, or making new friends or reconnecting with old ones. The list goes on. You can see it. You can’t wait.
You must remember one thing… life is short! How short? Well, that’s why I am sharing this message with you now. No one really knows.
My life has been hit too many times with those closest to me finding the end of their lives coming much, much earlier than they, or anyone around them, ever expected. I regularly hear stories about family, friends, and co-workers who died, suddenly and unexpectedly, and far younger than seems acceptable.
Death is the one thing that no one has figured out how to escape from. It’s a certainty we can all count on. It was Robert Dugoni that said, “None of us is getting out of here alive.” While we can take certain actions to protect ourselves, help ourselves, and give ourselves a better chance of living longer, our days are numbered, and any one of us could go tomorrow.
So… while we don’t have a ton of control over when we die, we do have immense control over how we live. This is something that most people either fail to recognize or fail to utilize to maximize the time they do have. And they let time slip by, wants go unmet, and dreams unfulfilled.
It is time to realize that this is your life. It is not a dress rehearsal. Your thoughts about one day… some day… will remain just that… thoughts. Today is the day you need to sit down, close your eyes, and think about where you want to go, the places you want to see, the things you want to do, and the person you know you can be. Make a list. It doesn’t have to be perfect. Just write. And tomorrow you start knocking out that list.
You will always have excuses that will hold you back. Not enough time. Not enough money. Don’t know how to do it. The world is full of people doing amazing things who at one point probably didn’t have the time, the money, or the know-how. The difference? They started!
I believe regret might be the thing I fear most. The thought of lying on my deathbed wishing I would have, thinking I should have, and knowing I could have is one thing that drives me every day. I want to suck every last drop out of life. Not knowing when my last days or hours are, I want to reach those knowing that I went, I saw, I did, and I was everything I could be.
We all get hit from time to time with news that someone went long before we thought they should. It usually triggers thoughts inside us and gets us thinking about our own mortality. We think about places we should go, things we want to do or buy, and things we need to say to those we love. But the inspiration is short-lived, and we end up right back in the same routines, accomplishing nothing new.
What are you waiting for? What really is holding you back? Commit today to the go, see, do, be philosophy. Think about that list. Write down that list. Most importantly… get after that list. And you could add “say” to that list. Is there something you should or need to say to someone? Time’s a tickin’! Reach the end… whenever that is… with a list that is mostly checked off… and NO REGRET!
